Scalp protector



y 1942- J. SHALER- ETAL 2,282,498

SCALP PROTECTOR Filed June 23,1941

Patented May 12, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE,

. V 2,282,498 [1 'YSCALP PROTECTOR Jessie L. Shaler and Hanna M. Hess,

1 Winona, Minn.

Application June 23, 1941, Serial No. 399,356 3 Claims. (01. 13236.1)

The invention relates to anew and improved card-like scalp protecting shield for use in performing hair-waving operations involving the steps of placing shields on locks of the hair, winding the locks upon curling rods, and applying heat.

The customary shield consists of a small flat pad or card having a straight slit through which the lock of hair extends and it is a known fact that when the hair is wound upon the curlin rod and lies against such a pad, the hairs between the ends of the slit are under greater tension than those at the ends of the slit, despite the fact that the ends of the curling rod upon which the hair is wound are of larger circumference than its central portion, and unless the tension on all of the hairs be substantially uniform, not only will an inferior wave be produced but there is severe danger of pull burns. Then too, a shield with a straight slit opening through one of its ends will often slip from the lock of hair while winding the latter on the curling iron, causing inconvenience and loss of time.

Our invention has aimed to overcome the above diificulties, and actual use of the improved shield has proven that it does overcome said difficulties.

A further object of the invention has been to provide a shield which will absorb any excess waving lotion and thus prevent it from burning the scalp, and one which is so inexpensive that it may be used once and thrown away, being, therefore, much more sanitary than shields which are repeatedly used.

With the foregoing in View, the invention resides in the novel subject matter hereinafter described and claimed, description being accomplished by reference to the accompanying drawmg. s

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing one of the devices applied.

Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view looking in the opposite direction from Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged transverse section on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

The pad 5 is of elongated preferably rectangular form and it is preferred to construct it from one layer 6 of blotting paper and a second layer 1 of relatively non-absorbent paper, the two layers being unitarily joined to each other. The layer 1 is by preference provided with a glazed finish and when the device is in use, this layer is disposed toward the scalp, with the absorbent layer 6 away from the scalp.

The pad 5 is formed with a longitudinal slit 8 to receive a lock of hair. In the present showing, thisslit extends from a point near one end of the pad 5 entirely to the other end of said pad, and said slit possesses a v long longitudinally curved major portion 9 and a short longitudinally curved outer end portion ID joining each other at a pointed crest II. It is of course only the major portion 9 which receives the lock of hair, and the arcuate form of this slit portion insures that the hair shall be uniformly tensioned when wound on the usual curling rod. This not only lessens of pull-burns but insures a superior wave. Experiments and actual practice have shown that tensioning the hair uniformly from one edge of the lock of hair to the other edge thereof cannot be attained with the conventional straight slit, often resulting in pulling of the hair at one place or another and adding to the liability of pull burns. v

It should be kept in mind that the curling rod upon which the hair is wound after passage through the protector slit 8, has a smaller circumference at its center and a larger circumference at its ends. The curve in the slit 8 compensates for the smaller dimension in the center of the curling rod. It is also to be borne in mind that the scalp possesses a curvature. The curve in the slit 8 accommodates the scalp curvature and the cooperation of the curvature of said slit with the scalp curvature and the longitudinal peripheral curvature of the curling rod, insures the desired uniform tension of hairs from endto-end of the slit, resulting in a superior wave and greatly decreasing the liability of pullburns.

The slit portion l0 forms an entrance through which the lock of hair is passed into the major portion 9 of the slit, and the crest ll acts as more or less of a hook which holds the hair in said major portion.

The device may be quickly and easily applied and successfully used, and due to its inexpensive nature, it may be used once and thrown away without entailing any appreciable expense, which is obviously of advantage for sanitary reasons. The absorbent portion 6 of the pad absorbs any excess waving lotion or the like and thus prevents the hot moisture from reaching the scalp and causing burns.

Viewing the invention in a different light, it will be seen that the slit 8 divides the card-like shield into upper and lower longitudinal hairgripping portions integrally joined at one end of said shield and free from each other at the other end of said shield; that said slit provides said lower portion with an upper edge which is longitudinally concave on one curvature from its juncture with said upper portion to a point near its free end and is longitudinally concave on another curvature from said point to said free end; and that said. slit provides said upper portion with a lower edge which is longitudinally convex on one curvature from its juncture with said lower portion to the aforesaid point and is longitudinally convex on another curvature from said point to its free end, the edge curvatures of said upper and lower portions being mated.

From the foregoing taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be seen that novel and advantageous provision has beenmade for carrying out the objects of the invention,and While preferred details have been illustrated, minor variations may of course be made within the scope of the inventionas claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A card-like scalp-protecting shield having upper and lower longitudinal portionscintegrally connected with each other at atleast one end of said shield, said lower portion having a longitudinally concave upper edge to lie against the lower side of a lock of hair passed between said upper and lower portions, said upper portion having a longitudinally convex lower edge to lie against the upper side of the'lock of hair, the

edge curvatures of said upper and lower portions being mated.

2, A card-like scalp-protecting shield having upper and lower longitudinal hair-gripping portions integrally joined to each other at one end of the shield and free from each other at the other end of said shield, the upper edge of said lower portion being longitudinally concave on one curvature from its juncture with said upper portionto a point near the free end of said lower portion, the rest of said upper edge of said lower portion being longitudinally concave on another curvature from said point to said free end of said lower portion; the lower edge of said upper portion being longitudinally convex on one curvature from its juncture with said lower portion to the aforesaid point, the rest of said lower edge of said upper portion being longitudinally convex on another curvature from said point to the free end of said upper portion, the edge curvatures of said upper and lower portions being mated. v

3. A structure as specified in claim 2; said card-like shield being composed of a layer of glazed paper to lie next to the scalp and a layer of absorbent paper unitarily joined to said glazed layer to absorb excess curling lotion, the shield beingadapted to be used once and thrown away.

JESSIE L. SHALER. HANNA M. HESS. 

